Grim Girl
by Flutterby Lullaby
Summary: In present Japan, Sesshomaru is one of the last demons. Alive, that is, until he is killed by another of his kind. His Grim Reaper is Rin, and she comes to escort him to Hell. So he strikes a deal: protection of her and her powers in exchange for life. AU
1. The Egress, then Goodbye

Yay, first story is out! I am Flutterby Lullaby, and boy do I have plot bunnies. After working on about a million different projects, this is quickly becoming my favorite, so I decided I would work on this one now predominately.

I am no stranger to but I won't tell you where the other places I hide are at, not at all.

I don't really want to keep you, so this is my story, Grim Girl. I plan to have fun with it. Enjoy! (And, P.S., review!)

* * *

I was a demon lord, ruler of all the Western Lands. I had loyalty and power over thousands of demons, and, inadvertently, the humans who lived there as well. Daimyo believed they had control over those lands; how foolish. I, Sesshomaru, knew so much better. 

But that was 500 years ago. In what modern humans call the Sengoku period of Japan. Today I blend in with those that I once hated with such passion I would not suffer their presence alive. Such is the way for demons now. 500 years ago, I believed my empire would last forever. I had built it so much greater than my father before me. My power was virtually limitless, and none contested me.

But now... _now!_

The Egress came. Some prophets had predicted it, but no one, human or demon, believed it was possible that demons would begin to die; begin to fade. It started first with the waning of magic. Newer, weaker demons died first, of course. They could not stand to the dissapation of the magic that fueled their strength and power. Priestesses and monks—spiritual power did not die, however. Their strength was holy, in nature, not magical. What demons that could stand to the desurgance of magic could not stand to the humans spiritual might. Eventually, magic grew less and less, and demons grew few and fewer. Only those of us too powerful to be overcome by holy men or magic depletion survived The Egress. We fell into hiding, hardly better than _they _now.

I hate them more and more. Humans have control, now. Control in their great numbers. _Billions. _Billions of humans inhabited the wide planet. Only a handful of the demons remained. I remember an old fox demon once searched the world trying to find our kind. He had found only short of 4,000. He confirmed I was one of only three demon he could find in Japan.

In my long years, I eventually decided to find the others in my land. I suppose I was lonely in a way, bitter. Traveling Japan brought old memories, and sour thoughts. When I succeeded in finding one of my kind, whatever I could have hoped would happen didn't—the demon I found had gone insane, years ago. She lived on the outskirts of Kyoto, feasting on the flesh of any wildlife she could find, or stragglers who dared venture into her territory.

When I journeyed into her land, she was soon to come to me. Laughing and giggling, she proceeded to attack me, her hair becoming sharp as swords, and flying wildly about her mangy face. Such a demon as her was pathetic against me—or at least, what I was. But I maintained a human appearance for many years now, sealing my fearsome youki away. So many years had it been, even, that my power arose from the bonds I had controlled it in sleepily, empowering me minimally.

I attempted to strike her, disgusted at my own weakness. Only my claws had grown, and the poison that usually tracked through them was not there. My speed, my strength; neither improved dramatically. I used my claws against her knife-hair. I lost soon, however. Her hair cut into my side, deeply, slicing through my body. It was a pain I had not felt in centuries. But more blows came, cuts across my chest, face, arms; it was relentless. In deep agony, I fell against a great pine.

The bitch struck only twice more: once to sever my left arm, and the other to drive through my heart.

So now there was only two demons left in Japan.

I watched my body, mangled and grotesque, from more of a different vantage then I had ever expected: from above, as if I floated midair. As if I was dead, as I knew I must be. The demoness guffawed at her victory, and scuttled over to me. Sniffing around my head, she licked my bloody cheek. I shuddered, and she screamed, smoke pouring from her mouth. She opened her jaw wide, clawing at her tongue. A great burn obscured it, and appeared to be eating away at the smoldering tissue.

I afforded a thin smile. So poison ran though my veins once more. I knew no beast of the forest would desecrate my body now.

The demoness' scream died into a long, low moan. The poison kept swallowing her tongue, and after much shaking and pathetic pandemonium, she finally bayed sharply, and tore it out. Keening, she hurried away.

And I stayed, unsure of what to do. I sat next to my body, studying it. It had been long since I had looked at my own face. I had grown so disgusted at my human appearance, I found it hard to stare at directly.

My hair was still dark, but streaks of white had begun to glimmer in it. The faint markings proving my aristocratic lineage. I reached to touch my own face, hesitant on whether I would push though it, or some sort of catastrophe would happen. But I hoped it would slide right into my body. Although, looking at its sorry condition, was it worth it?

My hand—satisfyingly clawed—collided against my cheek. However, although my hand wouldn't pass through my flesh, I found I couldn't feel it. I looked up at the tree tops. A steady wind rustled them but I felt no movement in my hair or clothes, nor saw any motion.

"So I am dead?" I pondered. And although my mouth moved, and I could feel my own throat hum, no voice reached my ears. The hesitant chirping of the birds, before startled by the short-lived battled, I could.

I sighed soundlessly, and leaned against the ground, wishing for the first time in my life I could smell damp wood, or hear my own malcontent. Anything would be better than this half-existence.

My heart—or what was my heart—clenched at the thought. There was something worse: purgatory. Hell. Two times in my life had I ever felt fear. This third time shook me. Eternal damnation.

Could I believe that I was truly dead? I wished suddenly for Tenseiga, my father's useless "gift" of a weapon. I had kept it once at my palace in the West; however, when I left my lands, I left the useless scrap as well. I wondered if it would have protected me. No matter. I was incorporal, obviously. I could not lift the sword to return my life.

I turned my thoughts to my fate. Would I remain as a ghost, and wander the earth for eternity? I had never followed human religion; I knew of it, but I thought it useless faith from mortals to try and cope with their own limited life. I wondered if I would be faced with Enma now. Or would I be reincarnated as something? Perhaps I would be judged before Osiris, or Jesus, or any number of mortal Messiahs. I found myself wishing I had seen all of the world; that I had a son, whom I could have raised. I felt more embitterened then ever.

It would be dusk until I was retrieved.

I heard a crashing in the brush. I turned my head, pleased I could hear it clearly—far more than the rustle of leaves or the call of the birds. Eventually I moved on the other side of the tree my body leaned against, sickened by my own bloating corpse. I had spent the day watching the wildlife that crept around my body, and pondering my situation. They were all fearful to draw too near, however. Even flies and ants would not dare to touch my body. I entertained that even the pine would shudder away if it could.

The wild creature burst through the foliage, finally. I was surprised. A human girl bent over, huffing as she clasped her knees, her dark head bobbing. I saw her clearly, as well. The environment around her, however, appeared slightly out of focus, as if I were viewing it constantly out of the corner of my eye.

"Oh..." She shot straight suddenly. "Oh, ew, _gross." _She held her hand over her nose, and glanced around. I almost smiled at the though of her screaming and running away in terror from my quickly deteriorating corpse. The thought faded when I realized she would run screaming straight to the police. They would notice something inhuman about me; but more importantly, they would desecrate my body; cut me apart, dissect my organs, all in the name of their petty science. I could not be explained by science.

She spotted my body. The reaction I had been expecting, however, was lacking. "Oh, there you are." She shuddered a little. "_Gruesome. _Someone really tore you up, huh?" She approached my body, adding another hand to her nose as the smell of my body apparently grew more poignant. I was stiff with shock. She was _expecting _this? Did she plan this, my death? Was she also a demon? Wild explanations flew through my head as she drew closer.

She squatted in front of me, delicately balancing on a gnarled root. I could only see a portion of her, however, so whatever she was doing to me, I couldn't see. I started to move around the tree.

"Hey!" I froze. "You're not here!" From my vantage point, I saw her rise quickly. "Spirit! Yoo-hoo! Please come here!" I must have shifted, because she suddenly turned and gave me a very sunny smile. I stood there, forcing emptiness on my face as she grinned. Inside, I thought if she claimed to be my child's mother I couldn't be more shocked than now.

"Hi there! Hiding's rude, you know. Well, my name is Rin, and I'll be your Grim Reaper."

I was wrong.

* * *

And, there we go! Short, I know. But it pleases me. Don't expect every chapter to be in first person. This is the only one that I foresee.

Expect that the next chapter be out within a week and a half. I'll be waiting for your loves here, people.

Peace.


	2. The Grim Circle of Life

I'm very sorry for not having gotten this up last Friday. I left the copy of the chapter at my cousin's house, and I haven't been able to get it back.

So, now, get ready for chapter two... prepare for Rin acting like a normal teenage girl. A _normal _teenage girl, not Kagome.

* * *

Rin was smiling at a thousand watts. Also, her jaw was cracking in half. Still, she found that the newly dead liked cheerful harbingers than ominous skeletal black-robed Grims. Not that, Rin thought, anything could scare this guy. He was scary, and Rin could write a book on scary. He _was _a demon, though.

Rin's smile got a little more genuine after that. A _demon. No one _culled demons in Japan anymore. This guy was going to be _such _a raise. It'd be more enjoyable, though, if this guy had an expression other than impassive. Ooh, was that boredom? No, looked more like an eye twitch. Rin pulled out a small electronic device from her left pocket.

"So… your name is Sesshomaru—wow, that's archaic—and you gave yourself the surname Taiyokai—mm, subtle—and you are…" Rin paused. Dammit, she rehearsed this! She had been pretending to read from her iGrim, but given her position in the hierarchy right now, it wasn't accessible to her. Now she had to be a loser and not know. "Well, we don't seem to have your date on record. You won't mind filling it out for us, right?" So she fibbed a little. So what?

He just stared at her, looking imposing. Rin felt like was wilting. Maybe he was just nervous. "I'm sorry for your loss—I know it's tough to lose one's corporal form. Don't worry, you'll get used to it. Um…" Okay, generic condolences didn't work. She decided to scare a reaction out of him.

"Listen, I'm sorry, but you've been judged already—totally irregular procedure, I swear. Usually, I just escort you to Judgment, and they reroute you to your final destination, but because of your unique situation,"—_I'm __tactful today_ she congratulated herself—"they judged you early, and given your… history… um…"

This guy would kill her if he could. His expression changed alright. He looked positively lethal, in the coldest, scariest way Rin had ever seen. The guy practically _radiated _hate and rage. She felt shivery and jumpy like a rabbit. Then Rin frowned. _Um, excuse_ her inner voice said. Who exactly was the Messenger here, the Final Harbinger? Why should _she _be scared? It's not like she was faced with the prospect of eternal damnation! It's not like _he _was death made tangible! She was the Reaper, humanities bane! So _there._

Rin put on her ominous face, and booted up her confidence. "For innumerable sins, for the evil you have wrought upon this green Earth in life past, you are here on sentenced to Hell, where you shall repent, or if not, shall spend Eternity as the damned. I am your Reaper, and I sow you now." With a flash, she summoned her scythe. Rin was feeling very important at that point.

Two seconds later, she felt like an idiot waving a large, pointy stick around when he vanished like a puff of cold breath.

"Wait—what? Hey! Come _back!" _She knew her voice was rising to the unpleasant pitch her friends teased her about, but she didn't care. Her cull was getting away, goddammit, and she was on very edge of her territory! If that bitch Aiko got _her _super special awesome cull, she'd scream so loud her head would pop off.

"Buddy, you're just racking up the sins! _Resisting arrest, _you stupid ghoul! You think no one's done this before! Come back!"

* * *

I could hear the Reaper's screams clearly. I knew with no doubt that she was right. I could not believe myself—running? Such worthlessness I had been reduced to. But she was a foe I could not fight; Hell was more the daunting.

I felt no regret for my actions. Perhaps that was necessary for the redemption she spoke of; to feel regret. If it were, I would be the damned forever. I found that a terrible prospect. To be subjugated in Hell, forever a slave—it was far worse than anything I had experienced in life. That girl was human. Alive and flesh and blood. She could not catch me, if her powers were limited to that form.

As I ran, I realized how foreign it felt. I could not feel the earth beneath me, nor the wind around me. The environment had no depth, no reality to it. It was as if the world spun and I; I too slow to catch it.

Then she was there, that human Reaper. I felt the agony of death tear once more upon me, and I saw the illusion of blood cover the ground where I lay. The human stood above me, frowning. "Listen, I'm sorry, but you can't run away like that. I won't add it to your list of crimes, but I will if you do that again." I hated her more than I hated anything, for as long as I existed.

She lifted her weapon above me, and brought it down. As I waited for the Earth to rip, and Hell's minions to suck me to its abyss, the human cleared her throat and said, "You can open your eyes now. I just took your spirit."

I was standing, and I was beside my body as I was when I left it first. The human woman was on the other side of it, giving me a feeble glare. "Not that I _couldn't _have sent your ass straight to Hell. I _can. _But I want both of us to know a few things first." She turned, and motioned me to follow. Despicable woman. "Come on. You need to know a few things. And besides, do you really want to stare at yourself all day?"

After a few moments of consideration, I followed her. Not because she told me to, but because I needed to know more to save myself.

* * *

Rin smiled secretly when she heard him get moving—or rather, sensed. She felt death, as any Reaper worth her salt should. That's why she was picked, of course. When her parents and brothers died, she knew, all the way from college in Kyoto.

Lots of people die, especially in a big city like Kyoto. It wasn't difficult to gain experience when Rin felt like she was being whisked away every two seconds to deal with another soul. In the good old days, that is: Rin had been demoted recently, so now her territory had compressed, and only covered the very outskirts of southeastern Kyoto and this wood. Now she was lucky to get a death a week.

But Sesshomaru would rack up _so _many points on her meter; she couldn't imagine not being promoted back to Grim.

Okay, so she lied a little to her cull. She wasn't _really _a Grim Reaper. She was a plain old Reaper, with the menial task of escorting the souls of the dead to Judgment. She didn't even bring them around to their family, or even their final destination.

Sesshomaru was her ticket up. She glanced behind her, and gave his general direction a little smile. Suddenly she didn't feel so miffed about him running. Maybe she'd been a little over dramatic about how she announced the state of his soul. Just a little.

But hey! She was mad then, and she hadn't told anyone their judgment in so long! If she wanted to have a little fun in a long while, who's to say she couldn't? No one, if they like being alive.

When Rin reached the edge of the wood—still in her territory—she sat down heavily on a mossy rock. Now she wished she hadn't spent so much energy before. She felt sleepy, and thick-headed. And she wished she had spent less time around the corpse. The smell was so bad it probably clung to her like the moss she sat on—ew.

She watched the opening in the trees for him, and soon he emerged, vapor-like, and casting a light that didn't shine on anything else.

"You can sit, if you want." He made no move. "Well, obviously you don't… okay, I'd ask you normally to ask me some questions, to make this shorter, but since you don't seem like the type to talk, I don't think I will."

Rin wished the man had _some _emotion. Outright hate would be better than an eternal ellipsis. "You're probably wondering what I did to you back there. Well, I'll tell you after my spiel, to keep your attention," Rin joked half-heartedly. She smiled a little. He didn't smile back. Duh.

"So, what I am is a Reaper of death. Usually, since I'm human, you'd call me a "Grim" Reaper." Rin did the little air-quotes. "But I was demoted two months ago, so I'm just a plain Reaper.

"Reaper's have territories, _per se_, no matter who they are. Their territories they have control over the dead souls, and the more land you have, the more souls, and therefore more power. This is a part of my area, and since your soul is here, I have control over you. Not like—"

"If I were to be removed from this place, you would cease to have influence over me?"

Woah. It talks, Mom. "Um, yeah. But don't get any ideas. I'll just do what I did before, and you can't leave." Rin waited for a response, but he seemed to have filled his talking quota for the day. Or week. "So, yeah. My job is to take you to Judgment, and then I wouldn't see you again. If I was a Grim, I would take you to see your family and friends one last time, maybe grant a final wish, if it's appropriate." She'd leave that definition hanging. "But since you're a demon, you can't be judged by mortal court, and I'm just to take you straight to Hell."

So she lied a little again. Sesshomaru had never been judged, because he couldn't. The demon courts that used to judge the souls of the dead demons had faded away, and mortal courts didn't have the authority to judge a demon's soul. Because of this, everyone decided it would be best if Sesshomaru just went to Hell.

Rin stood, brushing off her rear, and resummoning her scythe. "Which I guess I'll do now, since you don't have any questions."

"What was it that you did to me?" he asked instantly. Rin compressed a smile. She had hoped that would get a question—hell, a word—out of him.

"Um, yeah, sorry, I forgot," she said unconvincingly. "All I did was return your soul to your body, and then reap it again. Regular Reapers can't do that," she said smugly. "You see, I was promoted to Grim rather early for humans. I was totally on the watch to be _the _Grim Reaper. But then that bitch Aiko went and screwed things up! I almost lost my freaking scythe!"

"It is important to you," he said levelly. She noticed suddenly what a _really sexy _voice he had. Actually, what a really sexy everything now that she wasn't next to mangled, shredded, and rotting him.

"Um, yeah. Source of my power and all that. Every Reaper wants multiple scythes. The more you have the more power you have. Automatic promotions."

"You have only one."

"Yup. Only one." Actually, the voice was sexy, but he made everything sound so… monotonous.

"And if it were taken from you?"

"Then I'll cease to be a Reaper, and die. Some people give up their scythes, but most are stolen. That's another reason why it's good to have more than one—kind of like an insurance plan."

"You have the power to return the dead to life." Mr. Social Skills, you always know how to change the subject so subtly. But everyone asked that when she told them about that particular power. The just usually asked it in context. She knew came next, and she'd nip that in the bud.

"Sure, but I won't. No offense, Sesshomaru, but you're worth more dead to me than alive. Souls are worth what they are because of their importance in life. You're one of the last demons, and the first to be culled in one hundred and fifty years. I'll definitely get my promotion to a Grim if I cull _your _soul."

"You said that this would happen should you take another's source of power. Why haven't you?"

Scratch that, she didn't like this guy's questions. Rin felt very belittled, no matter what the guy said. Sexy voice or not. "Well, because… I'm not that strong, or that cunning. I don't care if they die, they're guaranteed a spot in Heaven, unless they do something really, really nasty, but…"

He was staring at her funny. Not funny in a good, maybe sexy way, funny in a you-look-like-chocolate-cake way. "You would consider a deal, Reaper? If I were to provide you with protection, for your powers and your life, and perhaps gain you another's you would exempt me from my sentence and return me to life?"

Um, woah.

* * *

So before anyone thinks that Sesshomaru is being OOC ("What! Deals with humans!"), consider this: Sesshomaru, for the first time in his life, has fathomed that he _can't beat Rin. _He can't beat anything in fact. And Sesshomaru, like anyone else who's in such a hopeless situation, doesn't want to die. He's trying to maintain his dignity, but at the same time, return to life. And Sesshomaru sees himself as pathetic, by the way. But being pathetic and dead is much worse than pathetic and alive.

Rin acts like any girl her age. She has all this super powers, and no real consequence to having them, so she's a little cocky, and a little clueless, but at the the same time, doesn't really know what to do with herself. She has a lot of growing up to do. That's why, yeah, um, she talks like, um, this.

Next chapter should be out Thursday or Friday. Review, please!


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